Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Here's Riley, getting all geared up for Super Bowl Sunday in his football sweater! It's a little hard to see the detail, but you can check it out on Riley's very own page on The Naked Sheep Knit Shop's website.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Another Christmas Eve Photo of me with my youngest nephew, Tanner. I made the We Call Them Pirates beanie for him, and it was a hit. It fit, AND he liked it. It's fun to knit for people who actually wear or use what you make them!

This was a very fun hat to knit. I made it using Bollicine Dolly from Cascade Yarns. My sweet hubby has asked me to make one for him. I'm toying with the idea of changing the colors a bit, but I need to run that by the recipient. Stop by the shop to check on my progress!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Here's the Clark Clan on Christmas Eve. We had a nice celebration at my parent's house with food, family and lot's of fun. The boys are wearing the sweaters that I made them for Christmas.

Cory, on the left, is wearing the Striped Sweater from Kristin Spurkland's newest book, The Knitting Man(ual). I changed it a bit, and used 3 colors instead of 2 for the stripes. It's knit with Silky Flamme from Elsebeth Lavold, a very delicious blend of alpaca, wool and silk.

Nick's sweater is the High-Top Hoodie from Son of Stitch 'n Bitch. It's knit, minus the hood, using Cascade 220 in 3 shades of gray. I had forgotten how nicely the 220 knits as a garment, I've used it so much for felting lately!

I really enjoyed knitting up both of these sweaters, and they both fit perfectly!

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

People are often confused when it comes to knowing which size to make in a particular pattern. Often people will look at the small (medium, large) sizing options and just assume that since they usually wear a medium, that’s the size they should make. This is definitely not the way to choose your size. It’s very important to look at the Finished Measurements listed for the garments.

Patterns will always give a Finished Measurement, and often a suggested “To Fit” Measurement. The one you really want to pay close attention to is the Finished Measurement.

First of all, you should measure your chest/bust. Next, decide how you want your sweater to fit. This will determine how much “ease” you need to build into the sizing.

If you want a very-close fitting garment, you would take your chest/bust measurement and add zero inches, or possibly subtract a couple of inches. This would give you “negative ease”, and result in a body hugging garment.

If you want a close fitting garment, you would add 0-2 inches to your chest/bust measurement.

If you want a standard fitting garment, you would add 2-4 inches to your chest/bust measurement.

If you want a loose fitting garment, you would add 4-6 inches to your chest/bust measurement.

Choose the Finished Measurement offered that is closest to the measurement you come up with.

Another way to approach choosing a size is to measure the chest/bust of a garment that you already own and love the fit of, and just go with that number.